Spotlight
by Teasing.Georgia
Summary: AU: Meredith Grey, the estranged daughter of oscar winning actress Ellis Grey, has just gotten her big break in the world of acting. And, I mean, getting paid to kiss glamours "sexiest man alive", Derek Shepherd, can't be that bad, can it? If only it were that simple... definitely MERDER! R&R please x
1. Chapter 1

**Spotlight  
**

 **G.A AU**

 **00.**

 _Glamours "sexiest man alive 2015", Derek Shepherd, is set to join forces with writer and producer Richard Webber as he signs on to Webber's latest project the much awaited TV adaptation of Miranda Bailey's "City Lights". The thirty-two year old actor is set to play male lead Jace Clifford. Joining him on this project are several other well known names such as Mark Sloan and Addison Montgomery. But most of the medias attention seems to be focused on Meredith Grey. The twenty-two year old previously unknown actress is set to take on the role of the series protagonist, Katya Fellows, following in the footsteps of her Oscar Winning Mommy, Ellis Grey._


	2. Chapter 2

**01.**

'Meet the Cast Parties' were perhaps Derek Shepherd's least favourite part of working with Richard Webber. For some reason totally unknown to Derek the older man loved any excuse to throw a party. He'd say that it was a good way to introduce cast members who maybe hadn't worked together before; bridge the gap that could sometimes develop between cast and crew early on.

Derek disagreed.

He didn't see why there was any reason these relationships couldn't just develop naturally in their own time. Every regular member of the cast had signed a contract for three seasons if the show was a hit (and as an actor at the height of his fame, he wouldn't have signed on if it wasn't pretty much a guaranteed success), they would all be in each others life for a large portion of the next three years at the very least and they were going to get to know each other just fine.

None the less, he had put on a shirt (his red 'good looking one' as a matter of fact) and showed up to Richard's mansion in Beverly Hills resigned to an evening of small talk with people who were inevitably going to be too drunk to remember his name in the morning and to flash the smile that had earned him the nickname "mcdreamy" for the cameras.

And that is how he got to the place he currently was. Sat at Webber's personal bar downing tumblers of scotch like they were his only source of oxygen in total silence.

He had done the rounds; said hello to the majority of important cast/crew members, given a quick interview to the select few reporters that had been invited and posed for more photos than he could count and now he was sat, besides Mark Sloan, his (ex) bestfriend, drinking himself into oblivion as people around him gossiped brainlessly about the mysterious and very very _late_ Meredith something-or-another.

He was stirred out of his revere by a gentle tinkling giggle close behind him.

He wasn't sure why he turned around, but one minute he was staring at the wall in front of him, and the next he had pivoted and his gaze had landed upon a girl that he knew he had not yet spoken to that evening. He would have remembered a girl like that. Her long blonde hair was swept back in an elegant twist, with her long bangs left to frame her pretty, pixie like face. She was wearing a short elegant black dress and heels and was very obviously caught up in conversation with Richard himself.

Something stirred in the back of his alcohol hazed brain - like he should know who this girl was, even without an introduction, but at that point in time he couldn't place her so he did the only thing he could think to do: he downed the rest of his shot and made his way over to the group.

 **...**

Meredith Grey was overwhelmed.

That was the only word to describe it.

It wasn't the house, or the amount of celebrities surrounding her, or even the cameras flashing every five minutes that were foreign to her. She was used to a certain amount of that. No. It was the fact that she was the person they were all focused on. She was the one they all wanted to talk too, to take pictures of and with.

She had arrived late due to her flight from Boston being delayed, but Richard had instantly began parading her around, introducing her to the likes of Addison Montgomery and Miranda Bailey and reporters who wanted to know everything she would tell them.

She was currently stood engaging in small talk with Richard Webber and Isobel Stevens, one of the best makeup artists in Los Angeles, and wondering how in the hell she hand managed to make it here.

The conversation was currently revolving around her currently awol co-star, Derek, to whom Richard had been attempting to introduce her too all night,

"Ah, speak of the devil and he doth appear! Derek my friend," Richard called, causing Meredith to turn in the direction Richard was facing.

He was beautiful. Of course she had seen photos, watched a few of his films before but in person there was simply no other way to describe him. With chiselled features, dark hair, piercing eyes and what she had heard described as the "mcdreamy smile" he literally took her breath away,

"Richard," he greeted,

"Derek, I would like you to meet Meredith Grey," Richard introduced, and Meredith managed what she hoped was a warm smile, extending her hand to shake his, trying not to gasp when their hands touched and electricity raced up her arm,

"Meredith," he said smiling. So here was the heroine of the story. She looked like a Meredith, "Can I get you a drink?" he asked. She raised her eyebrows at him but nodded all the same, excusing herself and following him back towards the bar.

"What can I get you?" asked the young guy behind the bar,

"Tequila," she answered, "and keep them coming."

"Straight tequila? You're gonna regret that one in the morning," Derek chuckled before placing his own order of a double scotch, single malt,

"I always regret it in the morning," She replied with a smile and a shrug, downing a shot as if to prove a point, he smiled that mcdreamy smile at her, and despite her best efforts to stop it, her stomach did flip flops,

"So, Meredith Grey, what's your story? How does a girl go from being completely unknown, to the lead in the most talked about new pilot on television?" He was flirting, of course, but he was also genuinely curious. She looked at him surprised for a second. Wondering if he truly didn't know. If it was honestly possible that someone she was pretty sure had worked with her mother before was actually totally unaware of her parentage, of the contacts she had been blessed with from birth. She laughed and shook her head - someone hadn't done their research,

"I don't have a story. I'm just a girl who got lucky." She said simply. It was only half of a lie - the fact was despite her famous mother she had worked her arse off to get where she was, but she was enjoying being this person for a while. Enjoying being her own person, rather than Ellis Grey's daughter. He smirked at her, taking another sip of his drink,

"And I'm just a guy who got lucky," she laughed at that, continuing talking with him at the bar for quite some time, flirting and laughing, exchanging silly little anecdotes about auditions and past jobs and drinking themselves into oblivion.

"We should dance," she announced suddenly, after maybe her seventh tequila shot. He raised his eyebrows at her, fighting the urge to give her his usual "I don't dane in public" line. But for some reason - maybe the glimmer in her greeny-blue eyes, maybe the way her soft giggle made his stomach flutter or the fact he didn't think he had ever enjoyed one of Richard's stupid parties more before - he didn't, he just stood up, grabbed her dainty little hand a dragged her towards the dance floor.

Hi arms found their way to her hips as hers laced around his neck, bodies pressed together as they swayed in time to the music. Alarm bells were ringing somewhere in the back of Meredith's head, telling her that this was a very very bad idea. But the tension between the pair was palpable, she had never felt this... _electrified_ before. She knew it was going to happen, she could just tell. The second before, something suggested to Derek that perhaps this wasn't the best idea. That this was a girl he was going to have to work with every day for the foreseeable future.

But then his lips were on hers and everything else paled into insignificance


	3. Chapter 3

**02  
**

His hands were everywhere, leaving trails of fire in their wake. Her head thrown back in ecstasy leaving her neck and chest open to the kisses he was covering them in as she locked her legs about his waist, pulling him closer, reaching for his belt buckle as he growled softly against her skin. Him knotting rough hands in silky blonde hair and dragging her lips to his while she moaned against his mouth.

"And cut!" Richard called, as the cameras stopped rolling.

Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd sprung apart like something had burned them, Meredith suddenly incredibly fascinated by a spot of floor in an attempt to hide the blush from her cheeks, while Derek stared intently ahead towards Richard, thinking very long and very hard about his grandmother so as to slow his heartbeat to a normal rate and gain control of any other...things that may present awkwardness.

"Excellent work you two, I think that's a wrap." Richard continued, smiling warmly at his two favourite cast members, completely oblivious to the practically smothering waves of tension radiating between the two.

It was almost one am and they had been trying to get the final scene of the pilot down for the last three hours. The final scene in which "Jace" and "Katya" had hot 'i haven't seen you in five years', 'you broke my heart you ass hole' hate/makeup sex. After about the eleventh take Meredith had convinced herself that Derek kept cocking the scene up on purpose. Kept making mistakes deliberately so he could continue kissing her.

In truth she was as to blame. In part because, while she didn't want to kiss him (again) because dammit she was a professional and they had over stepped the line the night before at Richard's party but it was all that she could think about and having his hands on her again, his lips on hers again was really not helping the situation. But she also didn't _not_ want to be kissing him. Because ever since she had woken up with the lingering taste of tequila and bad decisions in her mouth and him in her bed - well couch - it was all she could think about. But she was a professional, and an affair with your co-star was incredibly, _un_ professional.

 _"Fuck" Meredith had groaned as she had practically leapt off the couch (I mean the couch? Really?) and out of Derek's arms, sending him crashing to the floor in a moaning, sprawled heap, "Shit!" She had cursed again as she realised that she was completely naked and so was he. Grabbing the throw from the back of the sofa she'd wrapped it around herself and thrown a pillow at him. He'd grumbled again, raising his head from the ground where he had wound up before smirking slightly and picking up a black lace bra that certainly did not belong to him,_

 _"This is-" He'd mumbled, holding it out to her without moving from his sprawled position,_

 _"Humiliating on so many level," She'd said as she grabbed the bra, "You have to go," She had then slinked towards the door as he sat up, running his hands through that gorgeous tousled hair of his,_

 _"Why don't you just come back down here and we'll pick up where we left off?" As he had said it he had also began searching for his underwear, as she'd turned back towards him,_

 _"No seriously, you have to go. I'm late which isn't what you want to be on your first day of work, so."_

 _"We're late." Derek had corrected,_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Well, given we work together, if you're late that probably mean I am too." he'd explained, as he had stepped into his trousers and reached for his red shirt,_

 _"Right." She said, turning to go again,_

 _"So you actually live here?" By this point he had begun to do up his belt, but made time to look about the house he had found himself in. Spacious, homely. Nothing like the modern a-listers house they had been in the night before._

 _"No." She'd said, "Yes...Kind of."_

 _"Oh. It's nice. Little dusty, but nice."_

 _"Oh, look, we don't have to do the thing..."_

 _"We can do anything you want?" He had said somehow managing to combine suggestive with sincere and innocent in a way that could only spell trouble  
_

 _"No, the 'thing'. Exchange the details, pretend we care. How about we just pretend this never happened and just go back to being co-stars with a normal, unweird relationship?" Meredith had asked, arms folded protectively over her chest and her pretty face flushed slightly, he'd chuckled slightly, flashing her the mcdreamy smile that had worked wonders on her last night as he begun to button his shirt, "I'm going to go for a shower, and when I get back down here you wont be here so," She had laughed awkwardly, as he had raised his eyebrows before nodding,_

 _"I'll see you in an hour, Meredith."_

 _"Bye Derek," She had said, smiling in spite of herself as she turned and fled the room._

She practically sprinted off set and towards her dressing room, desperate to get her things and leave. He was faster though, catching up to her as she walked past the door leading to the stair well. He grabbed her arm and tugged her through the door. He released her arm immediately as she turned and look at him,

"Mer," He began, almost imploringly as he stepped towards her, looking her straight in the eyes

"Look, we should just pretend it never happened. Like I said." She responded sincerely,

"What never happened?" He asked indignantly, "You sleeping with me last night, or you throwing me out this morning? Because both a fond memories I'd like to hold onto," He smiled that mcdreamy smile as she spoke and she wasn't sure if she wanted to hit him or kiss him more in that moment,

"No. There will be no memories." She said stubbornly, "I'm not the girl from that party anymore and you are not the guy. This can't exist, you get that, right?" He nodded his head and kept a straight face, but his eyes still sparkled mischievously,

"You took advantage of me and now you want to forget about it," She rolled her eyes at this,

"I did not take advantage of you!"

"I was drunk, vulnerable and good looking and you took advantage," She couldn't help but smile at this, actually slightly amazed at the boldness and self confidence of the guy in front of her,

"Okay, I was the one who was drunk, and you are not that good looking." She was lying. He was that good looking. And now her eyes were doing that same sparkly thing that his had been and he knew she was flirting back, if just a little.

"I was good looking. I had my good looking shirt on and you took advantage," He said, smirking at her as he leaned against the railing,

"I did not-"

"Wanna take advantage again? Say...Friday night?" He asked. This caught her off guard and she froze. Almost considering it for a second as he smiled at her and she just looked at him, before shaking her head to clear it,

"No. We're co-stars. We work together, Derek. Stop looking at me like that!" She demanded,

"Like what?" He asked,

"Like you've seen me naked," She responded in exasperation. He smirked slightly and chuckled at that, stepping closer towards her,

"Derek!" She chided, " _This_ is inappropriate. Did that not occur to you?" She asked before slipping away, back through the door and towards her dressing room. He let her go this time. Instead just stood there for a second in absolute shock before shaking his head and also heading for his dressing room.

His phone rang just as he reached the door. He pulled it out and stared at the caller ID

INCOMING CALL FROM MARK SLOAN

He stared at it, watching it ring for a few moments, before hitting the decline button and shoving it back in his pocket.


	4. Chapter 4

**03**

Scandal creates careers.

That was what Addison Montgomery's agent had always told her. And it was true, in part. The right scandal at the right time could really launch an actors profile to the next level. After all in a world as harsh as the one actors live in you are no one until you're talked about. There is no such thing as bad press. Except there is. Because what her agent had failed to mention to her was that the wrong scandal at the wrong time could not just end, but massacre an actors career. Drag it through the dirt and leave it in shreds.

You ask her how a four time Oscar winning actress who was still in her prime found herself playing in some new teen tv show and she would laugh sadly and tell you this:

scandal breaks careers just as well as it makes them.

Joe's was a small but incredibly exclusive bar on the sunset strip, just a few minutes walk from the studio. Most of its regular cliental was cast and crew of various shows and films that shot in the near by studios. And Addison hated it. She didn't hate the owner; not at all. He was a decent guy who gave really great advice and free shots whenever she needed them. She didnt hate the fact that it was one of the few places in the city where she wasn't constantly hounded by press and fans. No. She hated the fact that it was located next door to the Viper Room.

Hated the fact that she could still see the blood stain on the sidewalk every time she walked by even though it had long since been washed away.

She looked up from her martini too see Meredith Grey walk through the doors, she smiled at the young actress. Meredith was young by from what Addison had seen working with her the last few days, she was talented. And she seemed like a nice enough you girl.

"Hey Addie," Meredith said tiredly, coming and taking a seat at the bar besides the slightly older woman, "Tequila please, and keep em coming" she asked Joe, God knows did she need it after her run in with Derek earlier. She could still feel his hands on her and- no. No. She was not going to think about that. Joe, the bartender nodded and poured her her drink as the two women sat in what could only be described as a tense silence for a few moments before Meredith sighed, downed her drink and turned to Addison, "do you think it's going to be a success?" she asked, "the show, I mean. Do you think it will be a hit, that the fans will like it? I mean, we've got the names - there's you, and... _Derek_ ," she tried not to blush at his name, cursing herself for behaving like such a kid, "and its such a well loved book series. But what if they hate it? What if I'm not what they wanted Katya to be? I mean, Richard's really pulling out all the stops, Izzie was telling me that Mark Sloan is even flying in early to film-"

"I'm sorry what did you say?" Addison interrupted the girl mid-ramble,

"Mark Sloan. He's flying in in the next few days to film some of the next episodes. I know he wasn't meant to be here for-" Meredith continued to talk but Addison wasn't listening anymore, paling significantly her grip tightened on her glass.

Scandal does not just involve one person.

...

Meredith had managed to avoid Derek successfully for the majority of the next day. They hadn't had any scenes to film together and when one had been on a break, the other had been filming. No interactions was good. It meant no flirting, or mcdreamy smiles, or inappropriate propositions.

But yet here she was, stood on the side of the set watching his scene. He was doing a police interview - well, "Jace" was and he was mesmerising. She had never actually just watched him act before. Acting with him was a different experience. She new they had chemistry. They _obviously_ had chemistry, and now she thought about it, she remembered it from their audition, all those months ago. But even on his own he was extraordinary.

"And cut!" Richard yelled, "I think we've got it," the actors relaxed, and Derek looked about, noticing her standing in the corner watching. Their eyes locked and he flashed her that mcdreamy smile and her insides turned to goo. She smiled back and rolled her eyes - at herself, at him, at whatever power there was in the sky for putting her in this situation - take your pick. He didn't take his gaze from her though,

"Is he good?" A voice asked just behind her, Meredith started, turning to see one of the executive producers, Christina Yang stood besides her, "Because he looks like he'd be good?"

"I'm sorry?" Meredith asked in confusion, although she had a bad feeling she knew what Christina was referring too. The woman who was about the same age as Meredith gave her a board look,

"Mcdreamy over there, we all saw you two leaving Richard's together. So is he good?" Meredith laughed and folded her arms across her chest,

"I-"

"Grey!" Richard called, "I want you in hair and makeup for scene fifteen five minutes ago! We start shooting in twenty minutes."

...

 _"Kat there's no where for you to go, it raining real hard, baby, come on!" Jace yelled, reaching out and grabbing Katya's upper arm harshly, causing her to stumble slightly as he turned her back to face him_ ,

 _"You do not get to just waltz back into my life and tell me where I can and can't go." Katya sobbed,_

 _"That's not fair, Kitty Kat, I'm not-" Katya yanked her arm from his grasp,_

 _"No. No you don't get to call me that." She snapped. His eyes flared for a second and he opened his mouth to yell back, but she went on, "We had sex Jace. That's it. It's what people do when they have an itch that needs to be scratched." She was cold, the ice queen of New York just as she had been when he'd left. He sighed,_

 _"Why can't you just trust me, Kat? Trust that maybe I came back because I love you. Why can't you just let me in," Jace pleaded, reaching out and grabbing her shoulders gently, forcing their eyes to meet_

\- for some reason this struck a chord for Meredith and she subconsciously sucked in a breath. This was Jace, not Derek and she was Katya, not Meredith -

 _She looked away sadly, "I don't cry over people anymore, Jace." she said thickly, evidently trying not to prove herself wrong, "I promised myself that after you left. I promised myself that I would never again give someone that much power over me. You didn't break me, Jace Clifford, not nearly. But you did take that part of me with you when you left me to sit alone and silent in that big beautiful house and I am not the same person I was then. So you wanna know why I can't just let you back in? You're not worth the pain you will inevitably cause."_

\- somehow, she didn't think it was Katya telling Jace, it was all too suddenly Meredith imploring Derek to understand her. Understand that she couldn't just let him in. That she'd had a Jace (well sort of), that she'd had someone ruin her faith in love and men -

 _Katya turned to exit, this time Jace making no attempts to follow her. Instead he just stood staring at the place where she had been before with his jaw locked and eyes dark._

"Cut" Richard said quietly. He didn't need to say it any louder because the whole set was silent. Pin drop silent. None of the busy bustle that normally came with this line of work. Absolute, pin drop silence.

Derek snapped out of it quicker than Meredith, shaking his head and running his hands through his tousled hair before making his way over to a stunned Richard. Meredith remained exactly where she had stopped walking, facing away from everyone for a few seconds before taking a deep, shuddering breath and turning back towards her director.

Critics and reporters would later call it extraordinary. Because while the scenes they'd filmed the day before, the sex, the hot make out sessions had been electric to watch, this scene, _this scene_ was what would really come to define the show. The raw magnetism between the two. The way in a single look, a single deep, shuddering breath they can convey so much. Richard just called it perfection, telling the pair that they were both free for the night but that he wanted them back on set bright and early.

Meredith saw Derek again an hour later as he stood by the reception, waiting to sign out. He didn't notice her presence leaning against the wall by the door at first, just leaned over to grab a pen that worked,

"That was amazing," she said suddenly, a ghost of a smile on her lips. He looked up at her before smirking and murmuring an agreement, before turning back to the paper. She still had this sort of awed look on her face. Not all acting felt like that, she was sure of that. "You practice lines, think about who the character is, why they're saying all of this, but nothing can prepare you for what it feels like actually doing it, in that moment. The chemistry." She paused as he tilted his head to look back at her, his eyes soft almost gleaming as he signed his name, "That was such a high." She almost laughed. He just kept looking at her, as though he wanted to say something, but instead settled for a nod, "I don't know why anybody does drugs." he smiled at this, his eyes still sparkling as he nodded,

"Yeah," he said softly. Completely entranced by this stunning little thing besides him. Because for her this was all new. She was experiencing it all for the very first time. She'd never been on a set before, not as an actor at least, never felt that spark of chemistry (not that he'd ever felt it quite to this extent either), and he just couldn't take his eyes from her. She flushed slightly, and smiled shyly before looking down,

"Yeah," she agreed, he bit his lip and shook his head, still grinning before becoming more somber as he noticed the time,

"I should- I should go," he said almost reluctantly, she looked up and caught his gaze again before nodding once,

"You should."

He gave her one last flash of that mcdreamy smile before murmuring, "I'll see you round," and then walked out the door,

"I see ya." She replied, more to herself than him.

* * *

 **Authors Note**

 **Just wanted to take the chance to say thank you everyone who is reading and reviewing this story and liking where it's going:) it means the world to me that people are actually enjoying my work! I'm going to slowly start developing the subplots (such as the Mark thing and the Addison thing, whatever they may be) over the next few chapters and give the story a few more layers I hope and Mark will make an appearance in the next chapter, maybe Lexie too? What do you guys think about that? Shall I bring Lexie in soon or leave it for a while?**

 **Anyway, I hope you like this instalment, I'll aim to have the next one up in a few days!**

 **x**


	5. Chapter 5

**04**

Meredith and Addison were walking towards hair and makeup together, deep in conversation about the one and only Ellis Grey. They had formed a weird sort of friendship over the past few days; finding out that despite the age gap and very different lives, they weren't all that different.

"How is your mom? She sort of fell off the map after the oscars last year." Addison asked, sipping from her coffee cup,

"Oh," Meredith paused slightly awkwardly before forcing a smile, "She's travelling. Taking a break to 'find herself' or something." Addison nodded slowly,

"Meredith!" A voice yelled from behind them, "Mer!" The pair turned around to see Derek jogging up to them, a grin plastered across his face,

"I'll take this as my cue to leave," Addison said tersely, smiling at her friend before shooting Derek a warning look that slowed him in his tracks.

"Have breakfast with me before the photoshoot tomorrow." Derek requested, grinning as he caught up to Meredith,

"I don't eat breakfast," She replied, fighting off a smirk and he chuckled lightly. This had become their "thing" in the week they had been working together. He would ask her to breakfast and she would reject him. It was their little game. The chase. That was why he did it. He would flirt with her, and smile at her and go out of his way to be sweet all because it was the chase. He didn't want her. Not really. He wanted the idea of her. He wanted the chase. And that was something she could give him,

"It's the chase, isn't it?" she said, stopping suddenly just before her makeup artist's door and looking at him, he halted too, folding his arms across his chest and gave her a confused smile, waiting for her to elaborate, "I've been wondering to myself, why you're so hell bent on getting me to go out with you. You know we work together. You know it's inapropriate. You know I keep saying no. It's the chase." He started for a second at her words, frowning slightly but with sparkling, smiling eyes,

"Well...I mean, it's fun, isn't it?" He asked, smirking finally and looking far too confident in himself. She laughed and rolled her eyes,

"If you say so, Shepherd." She replied with a small raise of her eyebrows, turning as if to push through the door to hair and makeup when he grabbed her forearm, just like he had their first day on set, only this time he pulled her back towards him, her stumbling and falling into his solid chest, she gasped slightly in surprise, glancing up at him with wide eyes that made him remember how new this all was to her. He didn't give her a chance to speak; as she opened her mouth probably to demand to know whatever the hell he was doing, he covered hers with his. Just like every kiss they'd ever shared something happened. Like a match was lit and a fire started burning and she was his fires source of oxygen. She was the fuel and he needed her, needed to breath her in. She kissed him back enthusiastically, pushing him up against the wall as her hands clawed at his back, his fiercely but somehow at the same time gently cupping her face.

It was over as fast as it began. All of a sudden, Meredith dragged herself away, panting heavily, shot him one last embarrassed smile before slipping through the door. He watched the space she'd been for a few seconds once the door swung shut, and soft, almost confused smile on his face. He didn't understand her. He didn't understand her one bit. He was taken from his thoughts however, by a loud coughing sound behind him. He whirred around to see none other than Mark Sloan stood, arms crossed with a knowing smirk plastered across his handsome face,

"Little young for you, isn't she Shep?"

 _Mark Sloan can't have been in LA long, a few hours at most, and yet he had already stirred up more than enough trouble to last._

 _Naturally the first thing he had done when he arrived at the studio was to hunt down Addison. A year was a long time not to see someone and if they were going to be working together for the foreseeable future then he had felt that they needed to clear the air. To be mature. So that was how he had found himself waiting, at just gone six am, leaning against the wall in the dressing room of his ex when she'd walked in,_

 _"My, my, my, Addison Montgomery you look even better than the paparazzi shots suggest."_

 _Addison had frozen, her back towards him as her mind flew in about a thousand directions at once. She hadn't needed to turn around to know who it was. She had been engaged to him for two years and with him even longer. She would have known that voice anywhere. She had definitely not been expecting him yet and she had suddenly wished that she had stayed with Meredith rather than heading off to her trailer to give her and Derek some space._

 _She'd taken a deep breath and attempted to collect herself, before turning towards him,_

 _"So satan speaks." She'd replied cooly, he'd chuckled, still openly checking her out and she had sighed in disgust, "Eye's to yourself, Sloan." he'd ignored her, of course, had pushed off the wall and walked towards her, far too confident and attractive for his own good._

 _"Come on Addie, don't be like that." He had tried to cup her cheek, but she had beaten him too it, smacking his hand out of the way quickly, a furious look on her face. He'd sighed reluctantly and taken a step back, shaking his head sadly, "It's not like you didn't know I was coming, Addison. The least we can do is be civil, baby."_

 _Addison had slapped him before she'd even registered she was doing it. Probably a reaction to his use of the endearment "baby" or something like that, she had decided. Not that it mattered once her palm connected with his cheek._

 _"No, Mark, the least you can do is leave me alone. Not answering phone calls would have been a big hint that I didn't want to talk to you. We have a job to do. So we'll do it. But that's it. Our relationship is professional and nothing more." She had mentally congratulated herself for how cool and even her tone was. Impersonal, detached; almost like she wasn't even speaking to the man who had pretty much ruined not only her life but her career too. She'd calmly walked back to the door, opened it and waited, looking at him expectantly until he had gotten the picture._

 _"We're going to have to talk about this, Addie." he had said quietly, as he'd made his way out the door. She hadn't responded, just shut the door on his face._

That was how he had wound up walking in on Derek Shepherd playing tonsil tennis with his - _their -_ co star.

"Mark." Derek said in greeting, nodding at his old friend before making to walk past him,

"Oh no, Der, we're going to talk about that one. That's the Grey girl, right? Ellis Grey's kid? I mean she's hot but...dude _she's practically a foetus_!" Mark laughed, patting his friend on the back,

"I'm not talking to you about this, Mark." He'd laughed, and Mark had rolled his eyes again, still smirking wickedly,

"Fine." He conceded, "All I'll say is fair play." Derek laughed at this too, patting his friend on the back before starting towards his makeup artists room,

"Oh and thanks for not answering my messages, Shep. Nice to know I'm appreciated."

"Stay out of trouble, Mark." Derek called over his shoulder, before turning and walking backwards a few steps, saying, "And if you see her...just go easy on Addie, won't you?"

If only it were that simple, Mark thought.

...

Addison was distressed. And confused. And uncomfortable. So she drank. Martini's usually but whatever was around worked for her.

Meredith was infuriated. And confused. And catching feelings. So she drank. Tequila; more specifically Jose Cuervo if it was around, but if not any variation would do.

The two women didn't mean to keep running into each other in bars. They really didn't, it just sort of worked out that way.

It was their thing.

Shit happened and then they drank. So when Meredith walked in to the bar after racing off of set to avoid Derek she wasn't at all surprised to see Addison already sat, slowly stirring her martini.

"Derek is an ass." Meredith sighed as she sat besides her friend and before she could even speak, Joe set a tequila in front of her. Addison just snorted and downed the rest of a drink,

"I was engaged to Mark Sloan." She said flatly,

"Okay, you win. Wanna talk about it?" Meredith asked tiredly, Addison looked at her gratefully as Joe fixed her another drink wordlessly.

"Not paticularly. He's here. I'm here. We haven't both been metaphorically _here_ in over a year. But we're here and we have jobs to do so." She shrugged and sipped her drink as Meredith did another shot, "But you," Addison said, wincing slightly from the harsh liquid sliding down her throat, "Shep isn't an ass. He's got a hint of a messiah complex, sure. But he's not an ass. Give him a chance. He may surprise you."

Meredith sighed and knocked back her shot.

"I suck at this. I mean, my dad abandoned me and my mom before I was five so I guess it doesn't take a shrink to work out why but," she paused to breath, "Why can I not just go to breakfast with him? What about that is so scary?"

"So go to breakfast with him." Came Addison's blunt response, Meredith just sighed and stood up,

"I gotta get back to set." She smiled, "See you at the shoot tomorrow Addie,"

...

"She's hot, who's that one?" Mark asked pointing to Izzie as she sat eating lunch, as the pair stood by the coffee machine talking,

"Do you ever think of anything else, Mark?" Derek responded tiredly, Mark rolled his eyes,

"Fine. So you and the Grey Girl, huh Shep?" Mark teased, Derek shot him a sarcastic smile,

"Spoken to Addie yet, Sloan?"

"Touche," Mark laughed, folding his muscular arms and shaking his head, "but I asked you first."

"Yes. No. I don't know, she's not like the others, Mark. Nothing like Rose was." Derek conceded seriously,

"What because she isn't begging for a slice of 'mcdreamy'?" his friend chuckled, Derek ignored him,

"She isn't what you'd expect the daughter of Ellis Grey to be. She's different. I like her." He replied honestly, before smirking himself, "Your turn." Mark sighed,

"She's a baby, Shep. She may be all put together and professional, may be a real great kisser. But she's a baby and you're kidding yourself if you think otherwise." Mark responded, Derek ignored him, waiting for him to talk about Addison. He sighed finally before admitting, "She slapped me. Addie slapped me. I went to see her this morning and the bitch slapped me."

"Were you flirting with a makeup artist or other crew member at the time?" Derek asked earning him a punch on the shoulder,

"No I was not. I wasn't even flirting with her," He sulked, "Much." he added after considering. Derek sighed, clapping his friend on the back in pity,

"You left Addie to take the fall, Mark. Everything that happened; you left her to take the fall. You're lucky I forgave you for that, she's practically my family. I'm surprised she's even willing to be in the same building. I'm not surprised she's not thrilled to see you."

Mark sighed and Derek laughed. Derek was right but he didn't want him to be. Just then Meredith walked through the door, smiling at Izzie who waved at her,

"Ooooh, look it's Der's perfect twelve-year-old." Mark chuckled, Derek glared at him before starting towards Meredith,

"Mer," he called, she turned to him and smiled warmly, and he stopped in front of her,

"Derek, hey, listen-" she began, but he needed to get this out before she told him whatever she was going to tell him,

"It's not the chase."

"What?" She asked, confused,

"You and me. It's not the thrill of the chase. It's not a game. It's...it's your laugh. And your hair." He said, reaching out to brush a blonde strand from her cheek,

"My hair," She smiled curiously,

"It smells nice. And you're very, very bossy. You keep me in line." He shrugged, still smiling at her, looking at her intently. Looking at her like she was the only thing in that room he saw, the only thing in that room that mattered

"Hypothetically speaking, if you were to take me to breakfast, where would we go?" Meredith asked, sounding almost nervous,

"Hypothetically, huh?" He asked, raising his eyebrows and flashing her one of his crooked mcdreamy smiles,

"Hypothetically." She confirmed, smiling. Derek kept his gaze fixed on Meredith's face,

"I guess you'll just have to come with me and see." He replied, shrugging his shoulders in challenge,

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." He said softly, still not breaking the eye contact,

"Fine." Meredith replied, full scale grinning now,

"Fine?" He asked, almost stunned at her agreement,

"Fine. You can take me to breakfast." Meredith giggled and he swore that was his new favourite sound.


	6. Chapter 6

05

The were many things that Meredith Grey had not intended to happen in her life:

Her mom packing her up in the middle of the night and taking her to california when she was five.

Her father remarrying.

Her father dying of lung cancer when she was ten.

Not being on speaking terms with her mother by the age of seventeen.

Medical school (yes, three years pre med at Columbia and a year into med school at Dartmouth she just packed up and left in the middle of the night).

Running into Richard Webber her first night in Los Angeles after doing exactly what her mom did and throwing it all away to be an actress

Richard Webber asking her to audition for a show.

Getting cast in the show.

Having a one night stand with a co-star

And then doing the nasty with him again two weeks later in a bathroom stall.

"What does this mean, Meredith?" Derek asked, trying to hide the smirk as he buttoned up his pants and started work doing up his belt. Meredith looked frantic, hurriedly scrambling around as if looking for something as she tried to fix her top,

"I had panties. I definitely had a pair of black panties." She mumbled, completely avoiding Derek's gaze.

"Meredith," He repeated, louder this time, "Meredith, what does this mean?" He asked again,

"I..." she floundered, finally looking up at him, her eyes wild and confused, hair mussed in a way that only happens post sex, "I...fine. But this," she indicated between the pair "is secret. We don't tell _anyone_. Well. Okay, I might tell Addison and you can maybe tell Mark. But that is it because this...this is such a terrible idea because now we're bloody late for the shoot and we just had sex in a public bathroom and if people see us coming out of the bathroom or if they saw us go in then we're fucked. Because the papers will know which means the cast will know which will mean-" Her rambling was cut off as Derek's lips crashed against hers, kissing her passionately as he grinned into her mouth,

"I told you I'd get you to go out with me." He said cockily, wiggling his eyebrows at her and she laughed, smaking him lightly on the arm before biting her lip and kissing him again quickly.

They walked the few blocks from the restaurant they'd had breakfast at to the studio the shoot was set to be at. Meredith had a base ball cap on and both had sunglasses so as to avoid being spotted together but neither cared, it wasn't abnormal for co-stars to arrive to a photoshoot together.

"I can't believe I lost my panties." Meredith grumbled as they walked through the door.

...

There were many things that Mark Sloan had not intended to happen in his life.

His parents kicking him out at sixteen.

Acting.

Meeting Addison and then sleeping with her even though he'd promised Derek he wouldn't.

Proposing to Addison.

Cheating on her.

The court case and letting Addison take the fall for... well for _everything_

And definitely not putting himself in a position where he would have to work with her because here they were, at 10:30 waiting for Meredith and Derek to finish hair and makeup for this stupid promotional photoshoot and saying it was awkward would be an understatement. Hair and makeup done they were ready to start but of course the others were late, and so they were delayed, and so it was _tense_. Mark Sloan felt tense.

"The coffee you wanted, Mr Sloan?" a voice said, behind him.

"What?" He turned to snap at whatever intern was talking but stopped when his gaze landed on a relatively petite little brunette girl with the most stunning olive eyes he'd ever seen,

"Coffee? You still want it right because if not," she rambled,

"Coffee is good, but only if you'll sit and drink it with me...?" he said really laying the charm on thick,

"Lexie." She said, looking confused but she sat with him at one of the tables.

...

Meredith emerged from hair and makeup practically buzzing. She'd never done a photoshoot before. Not like this. And then there was also the matter of Derek. She should tell Addison, right? That would be the best thing to do. Tell Addison because Addison knew him and could give her advice and stop her freaking out and going all dark and twisty. Right?

"Addie!" Meredith called, walking to where her friend sat as photographers and directors hurried around them, prepping the studio,

"Where have you been? I've been stranded here watching my _ex_ finace flirt with some twelve year old intern waiting for you! And where is Derek? How is it possible for you to be so late?" She demanded. Meredith bit her lip guiltily.

"There may have been some sex." Meredith admitted as quietly as she could. Addison stared at her for a second before giving a short laugh and rolling her eyes,

"Grey, tell me you're-"

"You did the mcnasty with mcdreamy again?" A voice exclaimed from behind, Meredith spun quickly before her gaze fell on ChristinaYang, the shows production manager,

"Shit. Christina, I...well...okay yes but you cannot tell _anyone_."

"Ha! Your dirty little secrets safe with me. Just keep it professional on set." She said shrugging before noticing something, "Paul! NO, Paul not, hey! Come back!" she called as she rushed off. Meredith turned to an even more amused Addison with wide eyes,

"She...she wont say anything, right?"

"Yang knows when to keep things to herself, Mer, don't worry about it." Addison smiled,

"Right. Cool. So who's the perfect twelve year old Marks cavorting with?" She asked, turning her attention back to where Mark was sat with the brunette,

"Lexie. Lexie Arnold, although apparently that's just her professional name. She's an intern for christs sake, why does she need a 'professional name'?" Addison demanded, "You," she snapped, waving over another intern, "Lexie Arnolds real name?" the intern, to his credit, looked alarmingly calm at the prospect of talking to an oscar winning actress,

"Her husbands first wife was some famous chick so she changed it. Didn't want to be associated with a woman she'd never met or whatever. It's Grey or something, I don't know, didn't pay that much attention." he shrugged, "anything else you need orr?" he asked but Addison had zoned out long ago, her eyes glued to Meredith's who's were glued to Lexie.

"You don't think?" She asked, Meredith shook her head vehemently,

"No." She said. "I don't have a sister. I'm an only child."

"Everything alright?" Derek asked coming over to stand by Meredith,

"Yeah. Everything's fine." She replied, giving him a forced smile as he fought the urge to kiss her.


End file.
